Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

His spirit with a bitter strength, and spoke-
Isaac! my only son! The boy looked up:
Where is the lamb, my father?- Oh, the tones,
The sweet, familiar voice of a loved child! -
What would its music seem at such an hour!
It was the last deep struggle. Abraham held
His loved, his beautiful, his only son,

And lifted up his arm, and called on God—

And lo! God's angel stayed him—and he fell

Upon his face, and wept.

And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

Thee will I love, O God, and own
My strength is in Thine arm alone.
Jehovah is my rock, my tower,
My Saviour in the darkest hour;
My God, my strength, my confidence,
My buckler, helm, and high defence:
On Him I call, and bless His name;
Ne'er shall my hope be put to shame.

A

CHAPTER XVIII.

A BRIDE SOUGHT FOR ISAAC.

REASON, my son

Should choose himself a wife; but as good reason,

The father, (all whose joy is nothing else

But fair posterity) should hold some counsel

In such business.

ND Abraham was old, and well stricken in age and the

Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham

said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that

he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land : must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

"Woman!" With that word,

Life's dearest hopes and memories come.
Truth, beauty, love, in her adored,

And earth's lost paradise restored,
In the green bower of home.

The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

Then rest thee, bright one, in thy tranquil nook,
Fond eyes to cherish thee, true arms to keep,

Nor wistful for the world's gay sunshine look ;
In its own time the light will o'er thee sweep.

-

And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand : and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I

may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

Sweet stream that winds through yonder glade,

Apt emblem of a virtuous maid,

Silent and chaste she steals along,

Far from the world's gay busy throng,

With gentle yet prevailing force,

Intent upon her destined course:

Graceful and useful all she does,

Blessing and blest where'er she goes,
Pure-bosomed as the watery glass,

And heaven reflected in her face.

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

Win her with gifts, if she respect not words.

Dumb jewels often, in their silent kind,

More than quick words do move a woman's mind.

And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten, shekels weight of gold; and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And

the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring, and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me, that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

Come in, thou blessed of the Lord,

Stranger nor foe art thou:

We welcome thee with warm accord,
Our friend, our brother, now.

CHAPTER XIX.

AN

REHEARSALS.

PROPOSALS.

Joy serious and sublime,

ESPOUSALS.

Such as doth nerve the energies of prayer,
Should swell the bosom when a maiden's hand,
Filled with life's dewy flowerets, girdeth on
That harness which the ministry of death
Alone unlooseth, but whose fearful power

May stamp the sentence of eternity.

ND the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great : and he hath

given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-ser-
vants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.
And Sarah my
master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and
unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made
me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou
shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a
wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure
the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The Lord,
before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper
thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred,
and of my father's house: then shalt thou be clear from this my
oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not
thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

A wife's a man's best piece; who till he marries,
Wants making up; she is the shrine to which
Nature doth send us forth on pilgrimage;

She was a scion taken from that tree,
Into which, if she has no second grafting,
The world can have no fruit; she is man's
Arithmetic, which teaches him to number
And multiply himself in his own children;
She is the good man's paradise, and the bad's
First step to heaven; a treasure which, who wants,
Cannot be trusted to posterity,

Nor pay his own debts: she's a golden sentence
Writ by our Maker, which the angels may

Discourse of, only men know how to use,
And none but devils violate.

And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; and she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoul

« AnteriorContinuar »